Tyranny and the Language of Power [Spoilers] 

I like how you can subvert Kyros at the very beginning by waiting before reading the first edict. The edict says everyone will die on the day of the sword after the edict has been read. The day of the sword is 8 days after the start of the game. But if you wait until after the day of the sword to read the edict, you'll have an entire year until the next day of the sword.

I wish this game had received a sequel, I find this world to be far more interesting than the one in Pillars of Eternity.

This game was a powerful experience for me. I never really play "evil" in games. To get through this one, I found myself relying on Kyros' law to tell me what was right, and what was wrong. I followed the law to the letter. I did some of the most horrendous acts I've ever done in a game, but in doing them I followed Kyros' law and there was comfort in that. Actually reminds me of my experience with Papers Please, in a way.

"When you let others speak through you, the yourself is diminished. There is power in words when you speak them sincerely. Crueler kind, but truly mean what you say what you mean, is to speak the language of power" - Noah Caldwell-Gervais This quote goes in my personal archive

I just found your channel and holy shit are you underated.

They also added a new ending to the game path which lets you actually recruit the rebels to Kyros' cause. You remain loyal to the end and are named rightful ruler of the Tiers by Kyros but kill off the Disfavored and the Scarlet Chorus. Thus you spare the Tiers from their brutal rule in favor of your potentially more openhanded approach by governing in the Overlord's name. You can only end two of the three Edicts you encounter after the prologue, but this is potentially more beneficial to the greater good of the Tiers because choosing not to end the Edict of Stone gives the Beastmen a homeland to escape to. However, at least one of your companions see's this path as a massive betrayal and you've delivered the Tiers into the hands of Kyros' oppressive regime. It's probably the best ending for the common people of the Tiers because it ends the war, potentially kills off the two factions that would have prayed on them the most, and ends a lot of the old, petty grudges they had with each other but it has some of the most personal betrayals in the game. I was definitely left feeling that I had compromised part of myself in the name of peace under Kyros and could have done better, even though the reality was that there wasn't any way to. Which is exactly how a game named "Tyranny" should make you feel. Plus, how many RPG games actually have the best ending locked behind stabbing one of your companions in the back.

"Life continues after evil wins, but the roles are different. When an authority says 'look the other way', our eyes cast downward. When they say 'turn up the voltage', we reach out to do it. When they say 'obey the law', we do not ask who wrote the law in the first place." - Noah Caldwell-Gervais, March 2017 This is a quote worth remembering, particularly in these times.

I think the worst thing about the black and white approach of Bioware to morality is how non sensical the evil approach is. For instance, in Dragon Age: Origins you meet a wounded soldier, the game lets you: a) Heal him. b) Ignore him. C) Kill him. But killing him makes no sense. It's evil, but stupidly evil. An intelligently evil approach would be to heal him, but the blackmail him to serve your purpose. Personally, I prefer the more morally gray approach of the Witcher games.

Words and how people view persons of power have a huge amount of power in Tyranny. Graven ashe, Tunon and your ascension to archon magic are due to how you all are viewed by the people around you (Ashe - Loyalty, love, Protection. Tunon - Law, justice, command. You - Edict binder, free agent) all give you the power that you have in the end. In the same way all of you have the weaknesses of those virtues (Pain from loss from every member of the disfavored, blindness to the intent of law, dependent on Kyros's edict manipulation). It is also shown that how people view you through favor or wrath system that you gain power from their love or fear. Kyros him/herself is dependent on that too. According to the law, anyone who uses the name of Kyros in a sentence, the sentence MUST be true. So if you say "By Kyros you are dumb", you need to prove it or die. If you name a child Kyros, the child and it's family die. Kyros's name is sacrosanct. Tyranny in itself is about not only evil is done through a slow degrade of your moral compass and compromises, it's also about the power of words, languages and how people view you. It's the closest universe to apply narrative thought apart from Discworld.

I love how you almost sound like a younger Lantry.

That you managed to make this while living life by van is inspiring.

To me, having the *choice* makes the rebellion plotline in Tyranny feel far more vital and real and alive than it does in other games. The fact that it's not the core assumption of the game - that I had to WORK MY ASS OFF to do it, the fact I had seen all these people die by MY OWN HAND a mere five hours before (Yes, I did immediately replay the game, why do you ask?) made it feel...so much more impactful.

"Tyranny is a game that says a world of magic and wolfmen is less of a fantasy than the assumption we are all fundamentally decent people, who will act according to our morals." Harsh but true.

In my playthrough I manage to turn Tunon to my side. I always saw Tunon as my boss, so I always did what I considered justice, my own sense of justice, and at the end, Tunon saw that my justice was better, even if it was againts Kyros! I loved that! I did what I could to saved peolple with knowledge and fairness... and savescumming my battles. But I also killed Ash and Voices, and by extention, all of the Disfavored and Chorus. And a bunch of others that opposed me, in my quest for justice. The power of savescumming made me (and my character) incredible confident, so I killed everyone I deemed evil. Eventualy, I had few allies, but I could protect the land, by using the Towers as superweapons in a cold war against Kyros... Mutual assured destruction... What a happy ending :)

26:15 Actually being the Queenslayer won't stop you from joining the Vendrien Guard. You need to release all of the Vendrien captains you find (I believe there are two of them) and went Ebb meets with you to ask about her friend you need to tell her about the edict and remain honest throughout the conversation.

I got this game because what you were saying about it just sounded fascinating. And I'm floored with the thematic depth this game provides. I have not played a game this rich since... Forever? Every piece of dialogue is crafted for you to understand the implications of what's happening, and it is, as you say, draining because these themes aren't light either. I think I'm just discovering these kinds of games, so if anyone has recommendations of others that have this depth, I'll be very grateful.

legitimately powerful ending. Thank you for this. didn't realize mandalore would bring me to this.

You missed the single, most important lesson of Tyranny: being loyal to a tyrant is outright impossible. Kyros Peace is a massive lie that was immediately broken by a civil war, Kyros is very obviously just trying to get everyone in the valley killed, and the player HAS to break the law to finish the game. And this contradiction is built into the system deliberately: the law is nothing more than a legal basis to kill threats to Kyros; and make no mistake, EVERY Arcon is a threat, which will eventually include the player. As an example, Kyros did not offer to make the Disfavored a part of the empire, but rather, the Arcons under Kyros decided that, and Kyros had no choice but to agree, because doing otherwise makes Kyros look less in control than she pretends to be. They became the Disfavored because Kyros literally wanted them dead from the start, but was too afraid to be direct about it. Because ultimately, every tyrant is ultimately just as vulnerable to their morally bankrupt underlings as the rest of the planet.

24:00 That was a brilliant bit of between-the-lines-reading you did there. It never occured to me that the varying interpretations of Kyros' law corresponded to the varying expressions used for a core sigil in the magic system. If Kyros started out as an archon, then Law would have been his sigil, which also explains why nobody knows Tunon's sigil - his is derivative of Kyros.

I've never actually played a game that explores concepts of power and the murky, difficult choices of its wielding better than Tyranny. The game has tons of jank but I still can't think of a game that actually made me really, truly grapple with the ramifications of my actions so intensely. Also that it is basically set in a bronze age Steven Erikson novel is sweet.

Gotta admit that while I loved Tyranny enough to play it with awful lag on a laptop that struggles to run Civ 5, I agree that the rebellion path was weaker. Which is a shame because I really wanted to see how far Obsidian would be willing to test my commitment to ending Kyros' rule. If the rebellion path was tougher, more cruel and had more morally grey choices it could have been a great story of the compromises and mistakes actual resistance movements face. And it would be useful to remind people of that now

Tyranny was my favorite RPG of the year (having also played Age of Decadence and Shadowrun Returns) so I'm so glad to see you reviewing it.

The best video you have put out to date. My parents lived through the dictatorship during the 80´s in Chile. It´s amazing how similar the attitude of the characters in this game is to the actual attitude people had when they were under a regime where nobody had rights except for the ones who wielded the power.

The first moment I truly felt this game was when I made Lantry swear fealty to me. I didn't trust him before I did it, but after I did it I immediately realized that I was walking in the footsteps of the Practical Incarnation from Planescape: Torment, and that left a prolonged bitter feeling that was hard to shake. Like I was starting something I'll have to fix and answer for later.

To be clear, in Milgram (1963) the participants were not able to see the confederate while they were administering the electric shocks, but your overall point still stands.

Just wanna take a moment to appreciate your budget intros and outros. They bring a lot of charm to your videos.

man, i couldnt finish the review, i just wanna play so much now that i dont want to hear anything else. thanks.

I've listened to this video essay nine times. I can't put into words how brilliantly beautiful I think it is. You've put into words so many concepts that I've been desperately trying to explain to people when they ask why Tyranny is my favorite game, and I honestly adore you for it.

the recruting method of the scarlet chorus ewminds me of the way militias in the former Yugoslavia and in the civil wars of Africa would recruit by wining the favoure of young teens by showing intrest in these children's interests and then forcing them to kill members of there village severing the childs ties with that vilage and forcing them closer to the militia

Watching this on Jan. 6, 2021 is quite something.

This just reminds me that I would *kill* to see you do a video essay on KOTOR 2.

This definitely reminds me of when I played Skyrim and found myself at the start of the Brotherhood quest. I knew there must be some way to destroy it, but I foolishly thought that I could do so "from the inside". That led to me being very surprised when suddenly id usurped the power and became the favorite of that mummy lady. I felt cheap and complicit for the purpose of gaining power. Where Skyrim ruined its momentum though, was that it rewarded me the entire way with morally grey assassinations and with really cool gear and a rocking demon steed, so I felt angry that I couldn't inact my plans of internal sabotage but I didn't question it any further because the cool horse had glowy eyes. It simply mistook my intentions, and I was happy enough to just go along with it, only a little bit annoyed that my plan didn't "work". Skyrims whole thing was about the power trip though; in a way it would have been a failure if you had to cruely face the terrible ramifications of your actions. It did make me think about the whole "change from the inside" argument when it comes to reform though, and how it would have to look (how much change, how far inside) to work, if ever.

Absolutely great in-depth video! Watched this many times by now. Tyranny is one of my most favorite if not THE most favorite CRPG of mine mostly because of it's setting and story. And your video made me appreciate and love the game even more. Thank you for this video, Noah. Keep up the good work!

I think this is your best critique I've seen in terms of analyzing themes and explaining emotional impact. Thanks for the hard work and the good content.

It's odd. I had no problem watching the Desserts or Kharak video, getting spoiled about the game, and then wanting to play it anyways. But I have absolutely no intention of watching this until I have a chance to play and finish Tyranny at least once.

dammit man, I was about to go to bed.

Just did a rewatch of this video, having watched it years ago when it was much newer, and just thought I’d throw a nice word into the comments section to help the algorithm. Your work, as always is fantastic. Keep it up and we’ll keep watching.

The worst part of this video is that it isn't longer. Well done, sir!

The Disfavoured and the Scarlet Chorus sound like the extremely right and the extremely left respectively

I love what you do Noah. Like I really love it, for the better part of a decade now it feels like. I've watched this video before but only in passing, I watched Mandalore Gaming's video on Tyranny and I didn't feel too bad about not getting into Tyranny, but watching the first bit of this video completely rejigged my perspective and I'm all in on it. Downloading as I type.

Idk, I think you kind of miss the idea of the Anarchist path. I'm not sure the goal of the PC is to be the next Kyros or to just dismantle the entire system itself, believing themselves to be the only power that can do so. I love this game.

This is legitimately amazing. Drawing attention to the artistic merit in video games isn't an easy task by any means, but you do it with aplomb, broski.

You're one of those people that just has a voice that's just purely listenable. Like Carl Sagan.

On my first (and so far only) playthrough of Tyranny, I did not compromise. I spoke Kyros' law in a way that Tunon was at once impressed and horrified by. Both Graven Ashe and Neraat lay dead at my feat, their archon power held by myself. Tunon bent the knee to me. I stood entirely loyal, but only to Kyros herself. Loyal, competent, and in utter and complete control. I feel it was the only and best ending for me. The "sincerity of conviction", the "language of power" yeah. It was an intoxicating experience. I loved every second, and probably won't play the game again. What greater height could I attain?

My god you're just on another planet among game critics Noah! I wish I could meet you one day...

your ending was perfectly insightful. sincerity of conviction indeed

I fell in love with this game straight away and have put in way more time than is healthy experimenting with different character types. Absolute favorite playthrough was a lawbreaker than made the rebels work for him. Was a run full of extortion, intimidation & politicing the hell out of the court and i loved every second of it. One line from Barik was the crowning moment of the playthrough. It was near the end of his companion quest during a conversation on the spire and went something like: "You lie. You cheat. You distort everything to fit your own twisted ends!" Sadly there was no option to respond "go ooon!" but the conversation still had me rolling. It's really interesting how loyalty and fear aren't mutually exclusive in Tyranny. Gives the player a lot more freedom in how they act toward the companions instead of feeling forced to pick the straightforward increase/decrease approval options like in other games. Aside from that one conversation every single choice fit perfectly into how i wanted the character to behave. He may not have been a hero by the end of the game but he got everything he wanted and more. Only thing that would have made it better would be if you could get Bleden Mark to submit, though insulting him in that last missive was hilarious. Was found innocent in the trial too much to my surprise. Had a hard time proving innocence in my initial Disfavored run so despite Tunon being my favorite character I figured i'd have to kill him. But somehow was found innocent in the first attempt and even managed to slip in some snarky answers. "Duskwatch would have looked terrible in purple" being my favorite. Guess i'll end the rambling comment here. That was a good listen and you've likely earned a new subscriber. I would donate too but ... i ain't gonna.

Man, Kotor 2 was just the best rpg I've ever played.

You are my favourite RU-vidr, Noah, i alwayd eagerly await your videos. You are an absolute breath of fresh air in an internet / popular cutlure that often makes me sick. You are a true intellectual

I've seen and read so many reviews where people mentioned that they have problems roleplaying as truly evil protagonists and making people suffer and I honestly do not understand - Is it hard for a lot of people to just roleplay as the character in the game? This isn't you, the player, it's a character in the game acting the way they would ( aka what your imagined background and personality would be ) With this barrier between me and the protagonist, I never had a problem to commit hideous crimes or be the absolute evil - This isn't me, I'm just witnessing a story told through the eyes of another person, in which I can greatly change the way the story will be told. Maybe I care more about interesting stories than feeling like a hero, but I honestly don't understand this point of many people - isn't the chosen one hero trope boring after a while and you want to play as a more nuanced person that isn't just an idealized version of yourself? Great video as always!

Another amazing work. I rarely like videos or subscribe to content creators. This one deserves support. I would support on patreon if I was financially solvent but nowadays, it's hard to get even 3 meals a day sometimes. Still, you have my heartfelt thanks and my admiration for your videos.

You have convinced me again, to play a game. I grew up under a father who had Malignant Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and I have confronted other Narcissists in my life already. I was often viewed as the antagonist, as “it's not worth it to fight him…” In the end, at one point, a person suggested that my “torture” of the narcissist was explicitly evil… my father posted something idiotic on my husband's wall, and I showed him just how I react to my father… with piss and vinegar, and bile and acid… he looked at it and was like, “woah, overreact much?” But is there any less appropriate response than to lash out against evil? Shouldn't evil suffer _just_ for being evil? … When everyone else has begun capitulating, because either they are complicit, or have found the fight not worth it… now the person standing up to the evil is the antagonist, and the outsider, and the “home” or “group” wrecker. Attempting to protect a previous family from the abuse of a person who when confronted with “we're pretty sure you're a sociopath.” His response was, “sure, why not.” … I had someone talk to me, and they have returned to the shelter of the abuse, and view _me_ as the cause of the pain and suffering… because evil can so easily throw anyone under the bus regardless… Now, I must see how I fair in this game… what happens, when a Paladin is forced to play a game that coerces you at all points to compromise against evil…

People keep goin "Man this game warped me into a supporter of kyros when I didn't plan to be" Meanwhile I'm here going "Hail Kyros. Eternal may his reign be." and complaining the game doesn't let you make it especially clear that you are a supporter of Kyros

Om my second playthrough, i joyned the rebels and was very pleased to see that i could do that and still remain loyal to Kyros. I even mentioned that to the insurgend leaders that i merely allied with them to crush the two armies and make them subjects under the great overlord, just with a lot more autonomy like in the other options. Therefore in the end, Kyros granted the Tiers as my fiefdom and the peoples of the Land lived under me

Very itnricate explanation of the different factions and your play experience. Beautiful video.

I thoroughly enjoyed my playthrough as a leader of a rebellion against Kyros (Vendrien Guard playthrough) because it was the position of the underdog from the very start. I felt as though I had a steeper climb ahead of me, a near certainty of failure and maybe I was just giving everyone false hope and dooming them in to a deeper suffering, than a quick end to their war. I felt the story rewarded my stubborness to spit in Evil's face and not compromise, even though it was always the hardest path, requiring perseverence, risk-taking and cunning. The ending felt compelling to me as well. It was the end of this story, but it was the beginning of another one of war, treachery and suffering, where my character's righteousness and perseverance would be tested, like Graven Ashe's.

I love how Tyranny is sort-of set in a fantasy version of the Balkans if you look at the map and some of them cultures/visual style of the equipment.

I keep coming back to this video (this is my fifth ... sixth time ... ) because it is so content rich ... really makes you think about applying the game to the world around you. "When evil wins it is not the end; just a foul new beginning." That really puts a perspective on things

Would it be possible at all for you to post a transcript of this by any chance? This essay is really brilliant and it would be awesome to be able to disseminate it to a wider audience through text

I've finally managed to get a job that allows me to (amongst other things) support you. It makes me very happy to be able to contribute to your channel and to your chosen lifepath. It's also a way to give back to you a very small portion of what you gave and continue to give in each video you upload. I've watched "Playtesting adventure" 13 times, and I believe it's my personal favourite. Thank you very much, Noah. Greetings from Argentina!

Your wording of the narrative implications of the game really opened my eyes to the game's value. When I first played it, I realized the futility of keeping with the status quo, the inability of the local forces to overcome themselves, so I became cold and took the only path I thought there was left to even have the possibility of enacting meaningful change - I took power for myself. I did not know that there was a path of compromise where you could make peace with the rebels. This lack of any agency, whether you are working from within the systems of power or contrary to them, is a constant source of frustration for me in the recent years. When speaking of moral conviction, it must also be considered that any forceful change towards a way of thinking you consider appropriate and just would also require the sacrifice and suffering of those who consider their current reality the only alternative to ensure their continued survival. In this game, too, it seems that obtaining violent personal power or becoming a deviant but still complicit part of the existing status quo are the the only methods of saving your own moral identity and agency, however self-centric it may be. A very reflexive narrative, but fatalistic in equal parts and fairly depressing as a result.

I think the most interesting way to ply this game is as the "loyalist rebel." It was added in a late patch, but there is a way to, at the end, if you succeeded in your trial with Tunon, and have at every step of the way acted as a kyros Loyalist, to proclaim your fealty, and to be granted power over the tiers. What's so gutwrenchingly interesting about it though, is if you're on the rebel plotline, opposing Ashe for cowardice, and Nerat for disloyalty and building a power base of your own, loyal to kyros and kyros alone. You regularly browbeat your allies, and reprimand them when they speak of actually being a rebellion, going so far as to strike your commanders for not closing out with an appropriate 'hail kyros' Its a uniquely feeling awfulness to be the last, latest and greatest of the arch-collaborators, all while feeling entirely justified in character, because ironically, being a loyal servant the entire way is the only way to stay morally consistent(again, in character).

Recently watched furiosa. The way dementus is shown to recruit early on, by having the captured people compete for the available motorcycles, reminds me of how you describe the scarlet chorus here.

You're offocially my favorite channel. I m around your age and I could listen to you for hours even going on about games I'll never play.

"mr. house isn't evil!!" i scream as my karma plummets in the wake of his assassination, his desiccated flesh dissolving in my belly

who knew a video game review could be so powerful. It hit me where I didn't know I was lacking. Thank you.

Besides... *Evil always find a way*...

One of your best in my opinion. Great work.

This game really reminded me of Papers, Please, and that is a huge compliment

Another sweet, sweet present by my favorite youtuber ever - Noah!

38:13 as someone living in the USA, this rings so true with me. Our society, a deeply Fascist one, is evil. Almost completely pure evil. I try my best as a revolutionary to fight back but at the end of the day, I can't go bombing buildings and punching cops. When evil wins, the fight isn't over. It's just entered a different phase. However, Humans instinctively yearn for freedom. Freedom from economic, political, societal, etc domination. That gives me hope. Tyranny is wrong, Human nature by our evolutionary past is inherently collaborative.

Man I love your videos. Never stop providing us with content if you can.

I broke the law and the law won! You are my kindred soul Noah, had me in chills at end. Keep up the good work brotha!

This essay is outstanding, even among all the others you've done. Noah, you are one of the strongest voices in literary game critique, if not one of the loudest. I hope you can continue this forever. In a perfect world you could make a living doing this. Of course, in a perfect world reflective analytic criticism would be dull.

Wow, I watched this almost right at the start. Noah, as much as I will gripe about some of your ideas and conclusions elsewhere, you have said something important here. You're making me rethink whether or not I want to pursue a certain career path. As a Muslim especially.

I love your examination of the game and I wish such an approach to be a norm for game reviewers. One thing with which I strongly disagree is taking a moral high ground. It sounds a bit self-righteous, like our world is somehow better than Terratus. I wonder if the discourse which you utilize is the same which Bethesda relies on depicting politics in its games. Also this idea of "Evil"... what exactly do you mean by that? If the state created by Kyros represents "Evil", then what is supposed to be "Good"? The rule of feudal lords? Are "decent people" whom you're referring to are supposed to support local aristocracy/oligarchy?

3:30 AM with work in 4 more hours , but when I see that notification I'm inclined to watch it.

I really wish this game would get a sequel. It and this channel are still vastly unappreciated for how good they are.

I ripped the audio from this video so I can listen to it on a road trip. Posting a comment so you get some engagement, because it's not going to register as a view.

After rewatching this one, I kind of want to see him cover Spiderweb's Geneforge series. That one puts you in the role of a Shaper, the most powerful of mages, as they alone have the power to Shape Essence, the very basis of life, into living constructs and creatures, and that has led them to conquer the known world. It has all the themes he tends to enjoy in his games. The situation has a binary moral choice system, but in the end, both sides are equally right and wrong, it depends on your point of view. What character do get development actually turn the story around in some ways(To be blunt, this as not a major project by a studio, but instead a smaller one by less than 10 people, even if they got 5 games out of it), and the gameplay has a focus on Creations, the living constructs, as you can make them to, and while how you treat them has no bearing on the plot, even where it should, it still tends to become a bit of Roleplaying, as your attitude towards them might influence how you see the people in the world as a whole. I doubt he'll ever cover it, but still, I think it's an interesting series that puts you in the role of someone morally grey, and then asks which side of greyness you want to be on.

Thank you for this video. My computer is too weak to support Tyranny, but I was very interested in this game and once I get better machine, I'll totally check out it and both Pillars of Eternity games. And I know I'm in the minority, but I'm happy to see you address unpleasant parallels between themes of this game and current political climate. I was thinking of showing this video to my friends, who have strong political opinions on both sidesand now I don't need to write a long commentarry to explain this to them. And I have to respect a man who is not afraid to voice his beliefs even when he knows it earns him scorn of awful, thin-skinned youtubers that voted for president fanta.

I think I was too freedom loving as a person to understand the implications of this game -- I always did what I thought was right, spent hours on gaining trust from factions I deemed to be morally better than others and refused on sight to do anything that will disgust me. I somehow managed to revolt on my first playthrough also which is... probably fascinating. This video gave me a different perspective on this game, and I revisited it... spent three hours talking to a first companion trying to improve relationship with a murderous wretch who was spying on me. Yeah, thanks for your perspective, man.

This game has to be the most underrated rpg of the decade. Every playthrough made me feel dirty in some way

22:32.I am willing to bet that some of the the work that went into Tyranny's magic system is being used in Avowed.

Tyranny for Pillars feels like Planescape for Baldur's - creative freedom and real inspiration that gave us interesting, but niche game

Damn man, I love this vid. Personally I was not that troubled by the moral choices in the game. What troubled me is how far some factions would "resist" by being total fools and letting people suffer as a result (edict of storms, for example). There is no point resisting even before the conquest, the map was already 99% Kyros. Therefore as strange at it may sound, resisting is a criminal act leading to death, Tunon was right.

"Not everyone is a slave under Kyros by name but the functional difference between those who wear chains of metal and those who wear chains of silence is minimal at best." Oooof, what a line.

Your analyses are the first RU-vid gaming videos that I consider to be edifying. Thank you!

You need to do a Anarchist playthrough of Tyranny. It's one of the most wonderful things you can do in a RPG and its so much more free! The freedom that path gives you feels and is incredible. Its like a completely different game when you go against the archons in order to yield to their version of order but to wield your own , fashioned by your own decisions. I ended with with the fealty of Sirin , Bleden Mark and Tunon himself. I killed Voices of Nerat and Graven Ashe. The power I held at that point was incredible , not just wealth , physical or mystical , but the raw power of being able to get things done, great things. Casting Edicts , leading Archons , slaying Archons , etc etc. Please do play through a pure Anarchist playthrough. It's amazing.

Tyranny is such a fascinating game and one of my favorite spiritual successors to the Baldur's Gate games from back in the day. It's definitely up there with KOTOR2 for being thought provoking and philosophical.

Was just thinking about watching one of your videos (again) and you post a new one!

This is still one of my favourite videos of yours, it's just so amazing and eloquent

Tyranny just moved right up my wishlist, excellent video as always!

An Iron Shortage? Reminds me of something, thought I took care of this in Nashkél though.

i loved my first playthrough, even though just like you i felt bad over actions i had taken. In my mind my character became obsessed with creating unity and order in the world. When at first i questioned kyros and his brutal and sometimes absurd actions i soon found myself thinking that it doesn't truly matter who the overlord is. No matter his actual believes, if he wants to create unity and has the power to enforce it, this would be good no matter what. The peace of kyros become the end goal, no matter the cost. The game really pushed against you if you followed this line of thought, making the cost of that peace appear greater and greater... especially when it meant killing an infant and it's mother. This was a great experience as you truly felt, how a certain conviction can make you basically go mad. To me the only way this game could have been even greater, would be an ending where the troops of kyros march on even after you declare fealty to her/him. I would have loved to end my playthrough with my character letting himself drop from his spire to finalize the peace of the overlord.

this is one of your best... Some of the themes analysed throughout the video are very reminiscent of Hannah Arendt's Origins of Totalitarianism, which I read a couple years ago. Or Eichmann's Report, too. People like to throw the term "banality of evil" around very loosely, but this game nails it. When the most radical evil comes to fruition, it is frequently brought about by the efforts of "nobodies", people without wicked wills or twisted hearts but who have ceased to "think", to feel empathy and to be able to cast moral judgement. It's easy to be a decent human being when the circumstances allow it...

I love this game soooo much, but what i love much is you're reference to THE Man you don't want to have as a ennemy, and his name is Inigo Montoya !

I'm listening this essay for the 3th time, and I still get shivers the way you explain the messages of this game.

Was very sad that the game wouldnt let me play as a guy who just wants to uphold Kyros law, because he actually believes in her. They introduce you as an arbitor of evil justice and then forgot to incudle that as a roleplaying option. Maybe when the second one comes out I can try again knowing this and trying to stick with one of the armies :>

While Rebel path might not be as solid as the rest of the story in Tyranny, it was my first, most sincere playthrough, and it was still very, very enjoyable During Conquest I understood I'm not playing as a hero. All I can do at this point is to minimise the casualties, with a risk of my actions biting me in the ass later. Same with Chapter 1. I helped both armies because I wanted them to be at full capacity. Because otherwise we all gonna die! But at the same time I tried to spare as much people as I can. At which point the oathbreakers took notice of it. Confused as I am they called me out ant tried to piece together who I am really. Considering they are going to die anyway, either by Edict or by swords, they tried to swear loyalty to me. I was... Intrigued to say the least. I did NOT expect the game to give me that way! So out of sheer curiosity I decided to give it a shot. The siege was a nightmare, mostly because a day prior a helped both armies the best I could. Including the Earthshakers... Yeah, oopsies... But at the end I came out victorious, and then even the Spire awoken, as if acknowledging my victory Chapter 2 went in a perpetual state of "oh, shit, oh, shit, oh, shit, oh, shit, oh, shit". You can say why. I am borderline the oathbreaker myself, both Ashe and Voices want my head above their fireplace, and even Tunon... Well... Tunon is a strange case. I felt like he was actually saving my ass, and at the same time I was testing his patience twisting the law to my salvation. Does it make sense to say that for me Tunon was like a fire? The one I use to protect myself and my people from predators yet the one I should handle with upmost caution? Still, he was my hope. Which came to bite me later at Chapter 3 And in Chapter 3 power started to take its toll on me. Failed to present the case about Voices of Nerat (as it turned out later I was unable to prove this amalgamation of lies and atrocities guilt, failed to prove his incompetence, yet I had a full deck of evidence against Graven Ashe, the one I actually respect :D), now it was my turn. And with all tiers united, all Spires awoken and even the power of edicts themselves at my fingertips I thought. Can I take you down, Tunon? I did. The person I genuinely respected and liked has fallen by my hands... The detail I fixed by reloading the game, but still. And the rest of Chapter 3 was pure creamy power fantasy. I killed all the archons (tried to settle things peacefully with Ashe because once again, I respect him), completed all quests I could find and the ending was... Satisfying It might come across some people as banal and common for a such a cynical game to have that wishy-washy good ending, but... I enjoyed it so much. The tiers are united. I rule as a representative of my allies. The laws are created to serve the people, not the other way around, and keeping them is Tunon, who's judgement I can fully trust. And even Kyros the Overlord was if not stopped, but delayed at least. Something which never happened before. Tyranny might be dark, yes. But even in a game like that a player can not only speak of kindness and compassion, but stick to his guns until the very end and make those words true. That was my first, thankfully blindfolded, playthrough. And it was a surge of emotions